How WhatsApp generate money in their early days?

The WhatsApp text messaging app would ask users to buy stickers from the app.

A user could purchase stickers from the WhatsApp app for use in chats. Stickers are the versions of the emoticons available on the keyboard. WhatsApp had ads in the application for earning money.

The advertisers saw potential in publishing their ads on a platform that had more than 500 million users.

The visibility of the app in different areas across the world was an essential reason behind advertisers paying WhatsApp Inc. to display their ads.

An investor, potential or existing, look at different metrics before investing in a company. The key performance indicators (KPI) of a new company emphasize the ability of the service or product to acquire new customers, retain existing customers, and gain entry into more unique markets.

With all these parameters in mind, Facebook Inc. made a decision to acquire WhatsApp messenger services in February 2014.

WhatsApp’s acquisition by Facebook brought about a change in the business model of the text messaging application.

The subscription model was ineffective from January of 2016. WhatsApp went from charging USD 1 per year to free.

The reason behind Facebook making WhatsApp free

It seems counterintuitive to sell a product or service for free.

Especially, a product with the global appeal of WhatsApp. The next section of the article will describe the new.

WhatsApp text messenger business model after its integration with Facebook internet services.

New business model:-

There is an old adage in the English language which says there are no free meals in this world.

If something seems too good to be true, then it probably isn’t real. The adage revolves around a free meal because it is said to have its roots in pubs and bars.

Bars would have a “free lunch” sign to invite customers. The unsuspecting customers would end up paying a large amount of money over drinks.

There are similar things seen in the new business model of WhatsApp under Facebook Inc.

The secret behind WhatsApp’s new business model lies in its new mission statement under Facebook Inc.

Facebook wants WhatsApp messenger to join its group of Internet services:

Facebook Inc. provides services like Facebook (social media platform), Instagram, WhatsApp, and other iterations of these services. These platforms are all available for the users to use for free of charge.

However, Facebook is still one of the biggest companies in the world, earning more than USD 55 billion in revenues. For all these things to make sense, we must know the concept of digital advertising.

Digital Advertising:-

Facebook has been around for more than 15 years now. It is a leading social media platform.

They have always been available for registration free of cost. Facebook hosts more than 2 billion users in the world.

In other words, Facebook has a number of users than the population of China, a country with the largest population in the world.

One of the ways Facebook uses for earning money is from digital marketing. In the year 2017, almost 90% of its revenue came from digital ads.

Did you form a connection between the two statements?

If you did not, then the following section of the article will do so for you.

Digital marketing is a form of marketing. It is common knowledge, now, that marketing is an exercise that a company performs to raise awareness about their products and services.

It is a practice that has been going on for decades. Also, it has been evolving over the years. In the ’40s, 50’s, and 60’s, marketing efforts were local.

With the progress made in the field of technology, marketing has grown to global scales.

It has never been easier for a marketing team to see the results of their campaigns.

When marketing was done through TV and Radio channels, it would take weeks or months for the effect of the campaign to be seen.

WhatsApp’s potential to earn more:-

We have seen the different factors behind the success of WhatsApp. These factors help us to understand the widespread appeal of WhatsApp.

WhatsApp will be able to generate income without relying on user’s data for digital marketing through the use of these new services.

WhatsApp Business:-

In January of 2018, it came out with WhatsApp Business. WhatsApp Business is a platform for small scale business owners to communicate with their customers.

It allows business owners to create their profile describing important information like product information, store location, etc.

The information is useful for customers to learn more about businesses. It provides insightful analyses to the business owners about their customers.

WhatsApp API

WhatsApp came out with its API for medium and large scale business owners.

Business owners can customize WhatsApp Business API to improve communication with their customers and market their products or services by sending push notifications to the customers.

A critical aspect of WhatsApp Business API is Facebook displaying ads for the businesses on their social media platform.

In other words, large or medium size companies can advertise on Facebook. The link in the ad will redirect the users to WhatsApp Business API for communicating with the businesses.

According to WhatsApp, there are more than 100 companies willing to test the business API features, including Uber.

According to a few experts, WhatsApp is planning to introduce ads in its Status feature for businesses.

It is clear that WhatsApp is heading towards monetization by hosting businesses on its platform.

WhatsApp plans on becoming an intermediary between businesses and customers to start earning more revenue.

WhatsApp’s Future options for monetization:-

In addition to all the above sources of income, WhatsApp has the potential to unlock many features to increase its earnings in the future.

WhatsApp can introduce games on its platform for the users. It can also add payment services on its online platform.

For example, users can pay their electricity bills or recharge their mobile phone data plans through WhatsApp in the future.

It can form partnerships with other companies, and earn money for their services in connecting businesses with their customers.

WhatsApp can be a useful platform for people to book cab rides or order food from restaurants.

WhatsApp, according to its COO, will start monetizing businesses to increase revenues. It has shown no signs of slowing down in terms of the number of active users signing up to the text messaging service.